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What a banger year for video games. We were able to see some excellent titles across a gamut of genres and styles. Big and expensive-looking action games, introspective visual novels, and outright bizarre fever dream shooters, 2023 had something for literally everyone. We also want to acknowledge what a terrible year it’s been for the gaming industry as well, with record layoffs and studio closures throughout the year. For as great as the games have been, they’ve sadly been accompanied by these losses. Without further ado, we will celebrate our favorite games of the year and the talented teams who helped bring them to life.
Honorable Mention: Mortal Kombat 1
Freelance Writer: Julio Lapine: While it didn’t make it to the top of our list, we had to mention Mortal Kombat 1. NetherRealm’s latest entry is everything we hoped for and more. The gory and flashy moves, the outstanding graphics, and several game modes to keep us occupied make this title a worthy contender for GOTY.
Besides, it has a fantastic and fun single-player story that eases players into the world of the franchise and makes it a great point of entry for anyone looking to perform their first fatality. However, the lack of some expected functions like cross-platform play made it fall way back on our list. We are confident the game will improve as other entries of the series have in the past. And, while we wait, there’s a lot of content to try, and Kombat League points to earn.
From new seasons constantly coming to new DLC fighters releasing and even some themed fatalities, we are more hooked than Scorpion’s victims in the game. We can’t wait to see what more is coming to this title, and it’s only been out for a few months. So far, the future looks bright for the participants of this martial arts tournament, and anyone who wants to try a good fighting game should opt for this one as soon as possible.
Fourth Place: Hogwarts Legacy
Editor Dylan Chaundy: Like a Lumos spell illuminating the darkness, Hogwarts Legacy kickstarted 2023 with a flash and a bang. From the moment you first boot it up, one thing is made abundantly clear: Avalanche Software has managed to effectively capture the magic of JK Rowling’s beloved and enchanting fantasy world in video game form. No small feat!
Indeed, this is a reverential love letter to the iconic source material that took the world by storm back in the ’90s, ’00s, and beyond. Not only do players get to embark on their very own quest to solve a mystery surrounding a goblin rebellion, but they also snag the opportunity to enroll in one of the most famous schools in literature and film. Talk about fan service, eh?
While attending lessons, meeting new classmates, and discovering legendary magic spells is an absolute thrill, the real draw at the heart of the experience is in exploring the fastidiously eagle-eyed recreations of the corridors, streets, and meadows from the beloved novels. Yes, Hogwarts Legacy may’ve dropped the ball when it comes to the lack of Quidditch — in-game, the season has been canceled, boo! — but when everything else is so lovingly reproduced, it’s hard to be too crestfallen.
Third Place: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Freelance Writer Nat Collazo: From the moment we got The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild back in 2017, we knew that whatever would succeed it would be incredible. However, we didn’t realize just how incredible it really could be until we got our hands on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The famed sequel uses the same map as the previous game but adds two entirely new areas: The Depths that lie below Hyrule and the sky in the form of Sky Islands. Both locations allow for more exploration than ever thought imaginable, as well as new gameplay elements that weren’t possible before.
Instead of the Sheikah Slate, Link makes use of Rauru’s Right Arm, a strange, glowing arm that belonged to the former king of Hyrule. The arm grants Link new abilities, such as one that allows you to fuse items to create things like boats and planes. With these abilities, Link needs to find the kin of four ancient sages and, ultimately, defeat Ganondorf. As the second game in the Zelda franchise to feature a fully voice-acted cast, we hear from the likes of Patricia Summersett and famed gaming alumni Matthew Mercer, providing a more serious tone to offset the gameplay.
In our opinion, half of what made the game fun was the number of viral videos and memes that came from it just after its release. It felt like everyone in the whole world was playing Tears of the Kingdom. You couldn’t go online without immediately stumbling upon a video of someone fusing a death rocket to a poor Korok to launch it into the sun. Tears of the Kingdom’s release felt like a shift in gaming culture that brought everyone together in different ways, putting it third on our list.
Runner-up: Alan Wake 2
Reviews Editor David Rodriguez: Alan Wake 2 certainly makes a hell of an impression. A sequel more than a decade in the making, Alan Wake takes us and himself on a twisted and macabre journey into his own mind and the depths of the Dark Place. This twisted, metaphysical location is home to some of this year’s most incredible and memorable moments.
The Herald of Darkness within the We Sing chapter is the best sequence across any game in years. A full-blown musical-infused tour of Alan Wake and his memories, culminating in an FMV dance sequence and crescendo that brings together all of Remedy’s greatness in one killer moment.
Saga Anderson steps up as a new hero, and her visions, combined with Alan’s trippy noir-infused episodes, come together and create one of the most creative survival horror games of all time. If it wasn’t for the sheer impact of our overall winner, Alan Wake 2 is worthy of everybody’s time and attention, and we can’t wait to see what’s next for the Remedyverse.
The Nerd Stash 2023 Game of the Year Winner: Baldur’s Gate 3
Staff Writer Patrick Armstrong: Baldur’s Gate 3 invokes a particular kind of magic. It’s not the stuff of fireballs and lightning, though there’s plenty of that to go around, too. It’s a quieter, more intimate magic, and to Dungeons and Dragons players, it feels like a hug from an old friend. It’s the magic of storytelling, the real stuff. It’s the kind of narrative witchcraft that humans once summoned together around a crackling fire, telling stories to one another in the dark. Baldur’s Gate 3 is an excellent CRPG and an extraordinary DnD adaptation, but neither is the reason it’s Game of the Year. What makes BG3 special is that it doesn’t have much to do with dice or monsters at all.
Every fan has a moment when they realize Baldur’s Gate 3 is different. For some, it happened in the Underdark; for others, in the Druid Grove. It’s the moment when you realize that your Half-Orc can Barbarian her way through most social encounters just by roaring at people and scaring them into minding their own business. It’s the moment when you realize that Baldur’s Gate 3 isn’t satisfied with creating the illusion of freedom the way that most games do. Crucial NPCs can die minutes into the game depending on your decisions, and BG3 lets you see every ripple of the consequences.
No matter how you look at it, Baldur’s Gate 3 is a generation-defining game. Do you want to win a boss fight in one attack? Try dragging a bunch of explosive barrels to the Big Bad’s room, then lighting an oil slick and sending everything in the dungeon to the Nine Hells. Its branching narrative puts even the Nemesis System of Shadow of War to shame. It’s a game that rewards creativity and cleverness even more than muscles and magic. It also happens to boast some of the best companion writing this side of KOTOR and Mass Effect.
Whether we played as Tav, the Dark Urge, or one of the Origin characters, it continued to stun us with its reactivity. Every playthrough is a spiderweb of consequences. Larian Studios might have made one of the greatest games of all time with Baldur’s Gate 3. “Greatest” is a superlative that gets tossed around a lot, but BG3 earned it. Pick any part of the game. From the writing to the lighting, the mo-cap performances to the epic music, every element surpassed our expectations. In a year packed with incredible games, it took something this special to rise above them all and become The Nerd Stash’s 2023 Game of the Year.
